12. Downtown Wailmer [BFY] [F]

[Tiki]

Swapping Azumarill for Raticate
gonna try the harder difficulty RIP

After the fiasco with farmer Bernie, Ethan was quite tired and was making his way back to the Pokemon Center in Pokemon Center, when he heard a young boy crying in the street. Knowing Younsters like Jimmy that he had helped some long time ago, he was wondering what issue this young man was having now. He approached the young boy and whispered a "Hey..." once, but then realizing that it sounded not loud enough to catch the little child's attention.

He took a deep breath and tried again, "Hey there, what's going on? Do you need help finding your parents or your way home?" He asked, assuming those were common children problems in Goldenrod City. It was a big city after all.

[latani]

Despite the numerous people walking by, few paid much attention to the boy crying on a bench. Perhaps it was a sight common enough in Goldenrod, or they simply assumed his parents would arrive soon to comfort him. Had they stopped to look more closely, however, they'd take special note of the bruises on his arms and legs, and the state of his shirt. He was doing his best to stifle his sobs, but his physical and emotional aches wouldn't go away long enough for the youngster to stop for long. Swiping at his tear-streaked face, the sound of someone speaking to him had the boy's head lifting to meet Ethan's gaze. Looking away quickly, the boy stared at his feet for a minute before he glanced up nervously at Ethan. "U-um... no. I don't want to g-go home right now," he began, fresh tears gathering at the corners of his reddened eyes. "My n-name's Tim. I was just out for a walk with my Pokemon, w-when I..."

Tim hiccoughed, fidgeting anxiously with his hands before blurting it all out in a rush of words. "T-they just showed up out of nowhere! Some bullies asked me for a battle, and I said okay, though I lost right away... and then the one in charge told me to h-hand over my Pokemon! Of course I said no, but they started beating me up and stole my buddy Horsea..." Tears streamed down his face, cheeks heating up as if he were embarrassed. It was bad enough to have fumbled that battle, and then proceed to lose his one and only partner right after... it was like he'd let Horsea down. And that hurt worse than all his bruises. "I'm so w-weak and small, there's no way I could go after them." He bit his lip, raising one hand to shakily adjust the brim of the cap he was wearing over tousled hair.

Looking over Ethan again, Tim's eyes widened a fraction, and the boy sat up straight with interest. "Are you a trainer too, mister?" Tim said in a hushed voice. "Because another reason why I can't go after those mean bullies is that they like to hang out downtown in some area called Alley Maze. My mom said I couldn't go there, since I'd get lost, and people like those bullies are around. S-so, if you are a trainer, maybe you can go there for me!" He paused, looking sheepish for a moment. Who was he to beg a stranger for help? However, Ethan of all people had taken time to stop and ask what was wrong of a crying kid, so maybe he could help even more than he already had. "I m-mean, if you don't mind. I just want my Horsea back from those rotten people." Tim's expression was hopeful, almost puppy-like. It was a lot to ask of a stranger, but it was the only choice Tim had if it meant Horsea's safe return.

---

Youngster Tim begs you to get his Pokemon back!
Proceed to Alley Maze to track down the culprits!

[Tiki]

Ethan listened to the boy's response. First, his name was Tim, and there seemed to be an issue with this child. He nodded as he listened, and he gathered that the kid's Pokemon were stolen after losing in a Pokemon battle. Well, that certainly crossed into some illegal boundary. The people who had stolen his Pokemon seemed to hang out in this place called Alley Maze or whatever, and Tim have a Horsea.

When Tim was done, Ethan smiled and replied back to the boy, "Alley Maze, bully, and your Horsea, got it! And yes, I am a Pokemon Trainer, with three badges on me. Do you think you'll be safe here waiting for me then? It's kind of dark here and what if you got kidnapped or other worse things like somebody else comes and attack you?" He asked, and with whatever answer Tim had given him, he'll head out and they'll meet in an agreed spot.

He walked around downtown Goldenrod for a while, until he found some dimly lit alley that looked like the description Tim had given, now which path in the fork road to choose?

OOC: i just assume imma pick one based on description or RNG lol. plz don't tell me all paths are like "concrete walls made from Goldenrod Construction Unions"

[Lamont]

The place really did seem like a maze. Who in their right mind would build something like this in the heart of Goldenrod's downtown? Unless of course they were just asking for some shady business to go on. The darkened alley was bordered by massive buildings composing the bustling cities core, nearly like an artificial Ilex with how little sky one could see whilst in this maze of back alleys. But the lighting wasn't going to be the source of difficulties in helping out poor Tim.

Ethan had to stop and consider. Splits in the road were usually fairly easy to decide on, but a five way? Looking down his first choice there didn't seem to be anything visibly noteworthy, though it did smell strongly of diesel. The second option got a bit tight as it was lined with old crates and tin bins stacked around the back doors of stores. The third was similar, the alley leading down the backside of stores and businesses though it was less cramped as it was kept a bit more clear. And finally, the remaining option to consider was as bland as the first. It appeared to follow an apartment building so there were plenty of places to hide but overall nothing too interesting immediately visible.

Which would he choose to pursue the bullies?

[Tiki]

Ethan was examining his options to where those bullies might have went. He saw two roads to the backside of the store, but he decided to cross them off the back of his mind for now. What were those bullies gonna do with a stolen Pokemon? Buy a pack of gum and a bottle of cola to celebrate some criminal activity? And plus, Tim's Pokemon was only a Horsea, this wasn't some powerful or legendary Pokemon. IF they were going to celebrate, maybe a cake shop instead?

With his attempt at deduction, he went and ventured into the street that smelled of diesel. Maybe they rode a motorcycle or something-- was his train of thought. He held his breath as he walked through the shady alley. Gasoline just didn't seemed like something healthy to smell and carelessly breathed in.

[Lamont]

The alley path would soon reveal that Ethan's initial assumptions were correct. Up ahead he could quickly hear a bout of laughter followed by the sound of a can being kicked across the pavement. Turning round a corner the trainer would see two hooligans sitting by a dead end surrounded by some make shift work benches and other paraphernalia that signaled this to be some sort of common meet up place. Grease stained towels laid about on a near bench, only aid with the smell of a workshop, which this place must have been used for to some extent as one of the men was seated on a motorcycle.

The pair wore jackets depicting the face of a krokorok, obviously the gang's insignia. As Ethan came into view the two stopped their chuckling and turned their eyes onto the lad.
"Oy! What do yah think you're doing down 'ere kid? This is a dangerous place for the likes of you," the one crouched on the ground warned, a devious smile spread across his face.
"Hey, lookit that. Another helpless trainer has come to test his mettle. Shoulda stumbled the other direction kid," the burly man seated on the bike threatened. He smiled along with his partner. The two looked at each other and nodded, shuffling into their jackets for a pokéball and tossing them out.

"What'd yah say kid? Think you're man enough to beat us?"

Hooligans Gary & Cliff have challenged Ethan to a double battle!
They sent out their Gurdurr (LV 26) & Graveler (LV 27)

[Tiki]

Ethan examined the area casually that he turned up in. He didn't take too long to conclude that he was in some city street gang territory. The gang had an insignia of a Pokemon, one that he was still trying to learn to recognize and to learn the name. Those two men sounded like they would be tough, and they even sent out a bit more evolved Pokemon.

"I am here for the Horsea," Ethan bluntly responded, and eyed the Graveler and Gurrdurr out in the field, and then moved his eyes up toward the trainers. Well, that was an interesting combination of Pokemon to be in. Surprisingly, he was surprised about this double battle thing. Since he hailed from Hoenn, it had been a while since he had seen or been in a double battle.

He grinned and sent out two Pokemon. "Let's have a double battle then and find out! Weecot, use Giga Drain on the Graveler! Disco, use Psychic on the Gurrdurr!" Out into the field was an unusual combination of a floating clay doll Pokemon that have a resting apathy face, and a smol cotton Pokemon who had a penchant of bouncing around.

[Lamont]

The pair chuckled, obviously sure of themselves, but that chuckle strengthened to a laugh when Ethan made his declaration.
"You're here to save that wimp's horsea? Trust me, that kid had no idea what to do with it," the burly one, Cliff, replied. The stupid grin was still spread across his face. But it wouldn't remain there too long. Once the two hooligans saw what they were going to be up against their confidence disappeared; though they tried to hide it.

"Pfft, you think you can beat us with those puny pokémon?" Gary boasted with only a slight twitch of his eyes. "Go on Graveler, Bulldoze that weakling!"
"Go at 'em Gurdurr, Chip Away the cottonee," Cliff added. To further shatter their confidence in the match their two buff and tough pokémon would barely begin flexing their muscles by the time Ethan's team finished. Weecot and Disco wasted no time in enacting some vengeance for the youngster on the bench, Graveler receiving a devastating Giga Drain while Gurdurr was met with a mind bending pulse that tore through his skull. Graveler was instantly out cold, its life force sufficiently drained away by the much smaller puffy grass pokémon. Gurdurr proved more resilient.

The beam wielding fighter shook his head to get his vision back straight, grunting its annoyance before locking eyes on the cottonee. With a manly exertion the brawny pokémon came forward and whapped Weecot like a baseball with the steel girder. It was quite a hit, but Weecot was easily able to recover and find his way back beside Ethan.

---

Weather: Clear

Graveler | LV 27 | Rock Head
HP: 0%
Status: Fainted!

Gurdurr | LV 26 | Guts
HP: 43% (38/88)
Status: Normal
Used Chip Away on Weecot!

VS

Weecot | LV 27 | Prankster
HP: 63% (42/66)
Status: Normal
Used Giga Drain on Graveler!

Disco | LV 27 | Levitate
HP: 100% (66/66)
Status: Normal
Used Psychic on Gurdurr!

---

Weecot & Disco each gained 675 EXP for the defeat of Graveler!
+1 Happiness to them both as well


Queen grew to LV 15 thanks to EXP Share!

[Tiki]

"Just because he's too young to be training a Horsea it doesn't mean you can just, illegally take it from him! The Horsea could be his friend. It could be a gift from someone he knew, they could have been together since he was a baby!" Ethan replied, completely cannot fathom what those criminals did just now. He wasn't even concern about the insult thing at this point.

The battle was quick for the Graveler, as the rock and ground type was no match for a puffy grass type. However, the Gurrdurr had a bit more tolerance to the Psychic attack from the Baltoy, and the fighting Pokemon had swung its metal beam at the Cottonee like a baseball bat. The fluffer squealed in pain, but the metal didn't hurt as much as his fluffy coating had blocked some damage. Ethan wasn't too nervous about this battle, seeing as he had three gym badges on his belt, and these two gangsters aren't that coordinated.

"Now we have one left! Giga Drain and Psychic!" Ethan cheered, and ordered his Pokemon for the next move.

[Lamont]

It wasn't looking good for the two roughhousers. They did their best to hide their sweating with scrunched up expressions, helped that they had just been monkeying around with grease and whatnot already, but it was clear they weren't comfortable with the situation they'd put themselves in. Before their puny minds could come up with any sort of retort Ethan's pair of pokémon were unleashing the next wave of attacks at the lone remaining opponent. Gurdurr didn't even put up a fight, the hulking muscle pokémon far to slow to keep up with the smaller, more agile, duo. This left the two bikers in a tough spot.

"Bah, you make it sound like we robbed the kid," Gary piped up, bald head flashing as he and his partner recalled their fallen pokémon.
"We wagered, he lost," reiterated Cliff with a shrug of his shoulders. He chuckled, adjusting his seat and bringing his motorcycle roaring to life. Gary quickly hopped onto the back.
"'Sides, nothin' we can do about it anyways you bleeding heart. The boss has that little treasure," the slimy one hollered as the vehicle lurched forward. The two hooted wildly, laughing as the motorcycle raged toward Ethan and the exit of the little alley pocket. "Happy hunting!" The two cackled back as they passed, leaving a plume of black smoke and the heavy smell of diesel as they fled.

---

Weather: Clear

Graveler | LV 27 | Rock Head
HP: 0%
Status: Fainted!

Gurdurr | LV 26 | Guts
HP: 0%
Status: Fainted!

VS

Weecot | LV 27 | Prankster
HP: 75% (50/66)
Status: Normal
Used Giga Drain on Gurdurr!

Disco | LV 27 | Levitate
HP: 100% (66/66)
Status: Normal
Used Psychic on Gurdurr!

---

VICTORY!

---

Weecot & Disco each gained 650 EXP for the defeat of Gurdurr!
+1 Happiness to them both as well

Disco grew to LV 28!

Disco would like to learn Self Destruct; delete an old move?



Queen grew to LV 16 thanks to EXP Share!

---

Hooligans Gary & Cliff were defeated! They dropped £300 for Ethan.
They didn't have Horsea though, looks like it's back to the maze!
Choose another alley path

[Tiki]

"Well, but you shouldn't wager Pokemon anyways. This goes against Pokemon League, you know? Wager money or something else." Ethan sighed and replied, and watched as the two thugs disappeared with their defeated Pokemon. Ethan thanked his Pokemon for their helps, and returned them back to their balls. He wandered back toward the fork road, and had to decide which path to go next. he was looking for where a boss could hide.

He turned his head and examined the paths a few times before making a decision, and he decided that the path that was the backside of stores but less cramped and more clear, would be the right path for a boss. Though honestly, he was just giving a wild guess as he knew nothing about this Krookodile gang or what the boss would be into .

[Lamont]

Well the first path was a bit of a bust, but at least he learned... something. It was a tidbit of knowledge that didn't really help him figure out where to look next. At best he knew he was at least in the right area. Ethan's first initial instincts brought him to find the lackey thugs so perhaps now he would be able to sleuth out this supposed boss and get back Tim's horsea before dark.

Ethan eyed each pathway again, finally deciding on going down one of the two cleaner pathways. As he walked he saw the painted signs of each business, some with a loading dock and others without. It made one question how anyone would be driving a truck in this maze, but perhaps it was from an older time in Goldenrod as the walls and signs weren't in the greatest shape to begin with. Book stores, coffee shops, spices and herb shops, hair salons... It was a colorful block to say the least, and no doubt active on the other side, but here there wans't much.

Just as he was about to turn back around there was a shuffling noise further down. It was close. Well he was already here so why not investigate? It was coming from a nook between a noodle shop and home sense. As he drew closer it was apparent that it was an alcove for large trash bins, and atop one of the closed bins was a long lean cat that had just fished out some seafood noodles. The feline's eyes instantly locked onto Ethan, and it stopped eating. Its whiskers twitched as it hissed, the yellow cat swiftly lunging itself to the ground with back hairs on end.

A Persian (LV 27) appeared!

[Tiki]

As he was closing in on the sound in the alley, he could smell the waft of noodle shop brewing in the air. A very strong meat flavor combined with spices and herbs from the noodle broth. However, in front of him was a rather lean cat eyeing him ominously. This Persian wanted to fight.

"Weecot, come on out. Use Stun Spore and then use Giga Drain on Garfield!" The wild Pokemon probably don't have the name, but that doesn't mean Ethan can't use pop culture reference. The Pokeball he sent revealed a green and white Pokemon, and it hopped around the field a bit to understand the narrowness of this alley way. Then, his head cloud exploded with some orange? yellow? powders that would send a Pokemon to paralysis if they get too close, and prepared for Giga Drain at the next opportunity.

OOC: Cottonee stun spore and then giga drain

[Lamont]

The alley cat was set on defending its newly found meal; not that Ethan or Weecot were at all interested in the dumpster dish. With a flush of annoyance at the intrusion during feeding time Persian bolted forward like a streak of lightning. It speed was impressive but that wasn't going to protect it from Weecot's plan. Already seeded with a cloud of paralytic spores the ignorant feline dashed right into it. Persian coughed and jumped to the side once it breathed in a big whiff of the stun spore but it was far too late. The effect set in and left the four legged pokémon stiff. So much for that speed.

With renewed anger Persian changed its plan of attack. Instead of taking a warning swipe at the fluffy grass type it opened its mouth and let out an echoing screech of a noise. Weecot shivered at the expression of anger, eyes falling on the unsettling glare from the cat.

Just looks weren't going to protect Ethan from this menace though. Taking a breath and breaking eye contact Weecot focused on the instructions provided by his trainer. Moving in close with an eye for Persian's side the cotton pokémon was able to dig in and whisk away some of the feline's stamina. It was relatively safe to do now that the furry dumpster diver was having muscle spasms, but that didn't completely stop a retaliation. As Weecot spun round to retreat the Persian got him good with a deep set of claws. A gash ripped through the cottonee's soft body and sent him shooting across the ground back to Ethan.

---

Weather: Clear

Persian | LV 27 | Technician
HP: 80% (64/80)
Status: Paralyzed
Used Screech!
Used Slash!

VS

Weecot | LV 27 | Prankster
HP: 4% (3/66)
Status: Normal
Used Stun Spore!
Used Giga Drain!


*Running Shoes Exhausted

[Tiki]

Ethan wasn't expecting the alley cat to be speedy, but he then figured that to survive int he busy Goldenrod City, being quick would save yourself from being caught by humans or captured by one, and also other wild Pokemon living in the streets competing for resources. While he was glad to watch the paralysis set in, he wasn't expecting the opponent to screech loudly and slashing the grass type with its razor sharp claws. Persian's claws were able to cut into Weecot's softer part of the body, leaving him crying loudly in pain.

With not much stamina left, the grass type was struggling to stay afloat. Ethan sighed as he knew that the Cottonee wasn't strong enough yet, but for now, he'll have to call his Pokemon back or Weecot would pass out. "You did great, return!"

Then, he pulled out another Pokeball and sent out his Dynner. The Chameleon wasn't intimidated by the opponent, and in fact, he raised his claws boldly. Ethan then ordered him to use a Dragon Rage. The fire type cried and concentrated his draconic flames.